Israel has agreed to give the United States some additional time to negotiate the withdrawal of Palestine Liberation Organization forces from Lebanon but is simultaneously escalating military pressure against the PLO remnant in west Beirut.
Premier Menachem Begin said today, after meeting with U.S. special envoy Philip Habib, that the American diplomat would seek a clear cut commitment from the PLO to pull out of west Beirut and would report his progress in two days. Habib reportedly told Begin there was now a good chance to reach a settlement but the first step in that direction should be the restoration of the cease-fire.
This afternoon Israel Radio quoted Beirut Radio as announcing a new cease-fire would take effect late tonight. Arrangements for the cease-fire were apparently worked out by Habib in talks here this morning. The U.S. envoy left Israel later in the day and returned to Beirut.
CONTINUED BOMBARDMENT OF TERRORIST POSITIONS
Israeli fordes, meanwhile, continued their heavy aerial and artillery bombardment of Palestinian positions in west Beirut, combined with naval shelling and rocket attacks from off-shore. Reporters in Beirut, watching the scene described yesterday’s pounding as the most intense and severe of the war in Lebonon, now 52 days old. A military spokesman said two Israeli soldiers were slightly wounded by PLO fire yesterday.
The Israelis accused the PLO of firing into the largely Christian civilian quarters of east Beirut and attacking the Christian port of Junieh, 15 kilometers north of Beirut, where a German-owned ship chartered by the International Red Cross was severely damaged by rockets. One crewman was killed and five were injured. Air raids and artillery fire continued in west Beirut today where the Israelis again cut off the electricity and water supplies to the PLO-held Moslem quarter.
It was understood that the Israelis have given Habib until the end of next week to come up with a peaceful solution to the west Beirut impasse. Israel is not expected to take additional military action until then, by which time Begin will have returned from a state visit to Zaire and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir will be back from Washington. Shamir is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State George Shultz August 2-3.
Before leaving Jerusalem, Habib met with Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres. The opposition leader said he got the impression that there was a good chance for a diplomatic solution in Lebanon although many obstacles remained.
He disagreed with his colleague, former Premier Yitzhak Rabin, presently visiting the U.S., who said the PLO should be allowed temporary haven in northern and eastern Lebanon after they leave Beirut. Peres supported the government’s demand that the PLO must leave Lebanon without delay. The Lebanese government reportedly agrees with Israel’s position.
The Prime Minister’s Office, meanwhile claimed today that Begin had been misquoted by visiting U.S. Congressman Paul McCloskey (R. Calif.) after the two met yesterday. McCloskey was reported to have said on an American television interview that Begin claimed Israel’s right to destroy Beirut “even if it would have to kill 10 Lebanese and five Palestinian civilians for every Palestinian soldier.” The Prime Minister’s Office called that “a complete invention” and accused McCloskey of being a long-time foe of Israel.
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